The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has launched an inquiry after Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted his desire to take his embattled electric vehicle company private, according to reports.
The Wall Street Journal writes that the SEC has made inquiries to Tesla in relation to Musk’s tweets about taking the company private, while regulators are working to determine if the erratic billionaire’s statements on the matter were “truthful.” The SEC is also probing why Musk chose Twitter as a forum to disclosure the potentially transformative business plans.
News of a potential SEC inquiry quickly ran through social media.
Dear @SEC_News, this is an easy one: ask TSLA to show you the agreement(s) signed by their funding source(s) by 5pm EST that demonstrates the funding is “secured” and “certain.” If there is no such agreement, require a statement by 5:30pm. Inspire market confidence.
— Thomas Farley (@ThomasFarley) August 8, 2018
Board members at Tesla are evaluating CEO and Chairman Elon Musk’s $72 billion proposal to take the electric car and solar panel maker private. Six of nine members said in a prepared statement Wednesday that Musk began talking with the board about the move last week. This included discussing how being a private company could better serve Tesla’s long-term interests. Board members met several times and also addressed funding for the move, according to the statement.
Musk announced the bombshell move Tuesday on Twitter, writing that he had secured funding to buy Tesla Inc.’s shares at $420 each. Shares rose 11 percent Tuesday but fell nearly 2 percent at midday Wednesday to $372.38.
Am considering taking Tesla private at $420. Funding secured.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 7, 2018
At $420 apiece, buying all of Tesla’s shares would cost about $72 billion, but Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas wrote in a note to investors Wednesday that he expects about $50 billion in additional net debt. Musk owns about 20 percent of the Palo Alto, California, company’s stock, so that likely would reduce the cost of the buyout.
Musk also said he intends to give Tesla’s existing shareholders the option of retaining a stake in the company through a special fund if they want to stay invested.
Musk, his brother Kimbal and director Steve Jurvetson were not included in the statement from members Brad Buss, Robyn Denholm, Ira Ehrenpreis, Antonio Gracias, Linda Johnson Rice, and James Murdoch.
By taking Tesla private, Musk believes that the company will be able to sharpen its long-term focus of revolutionizing an automobile industry dominated by fuel-combustion vehicles without having to cater to investors’ fixation on how the business is faring from one quarter to the next.
On Wednesday, Breitbart News’ Economics and Finance editor John Carney expressed doubts about plans to take Tesla private, suggesting the move may face insurmountable legal headwinds.
“Similar special investment funds in the past have been limited to qualified investors, the wealthy clients of the investment banks setting them up. Musk seems to think he can offer shares in Tesla Holding to all of the holders of Tesla’s public shares. No one has ever tried that before — and it is most likely in breach of securities laws,” Carney writes.
Making money has proven elusive for Tesla while it has been investing in electric car technology and ramping up production of its vehicles, including a sedan with a starting price of $35,000 to appeal to a broader audience.
The company has only posted a quarterly profit twice in its history and has never made money during an entire calendar year, something that Musk has been trying to change by cutting costs, including recent mass layoffs that trimmed Tesla’s workforce by 9 percent. Tesla lost another $717.5 million in its most recent quarter.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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